Veiled
by reminiscent-afterthought
Summary: It was only when I truly felt the touch of death that I saw, and understood, and everything: the anger, the bitterness I carried, whether rightly or not, was gone in that moment of truth. That point, where one choice made all...


**Author's Notes**

First time writing a song fic (or a song for that matter) so I thought I'd try it and see how it goes. The beginning (first segment) and ending (last segment) are in third person POV, while the rest is Kouichi's POV. _**Bold and italics**_ is an attack. _Italics and centred _is lyrics. Dialogue and events follow the Japanese version of episode 48 – Turn Light and Darkness into One! Kouichi's Final Wish (eng. Dub: The Brothers Yin and Yang). The song belongs to me though, if you can really call it a song. But my classmates liked it (embarrassing moment though, one of my classmates stole the paper when I wasn't looking and started singing it, but she didn't make fun of it and there weren't too many people around, so that was good.)

Lyrics get closer together and bunched up during the more action parts, so there is a reason why the beginning ones are so spaced out, kay.

And the full lyrics are at the bottom.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own digimon, its characters, nor _any_ dialogue in this fic. I do own the rest of the fic, including lyrics.

Anyway, please read and enjoy.

* * *

**Veiled**

It was only when I truly felt the touch of death that I saw, and understood, and everything: the anger, the bitterness I carried, whether rightly or not, was gone in that moment of truth. That point, where one choice made all...

Kouichi K

Genre/s: Spiritual/Tragedy

Rating: T

* * *

**Veiled**

It was the final battle. A battle which they all knew marked the end, and beginning, of all things. It was, really, a matter of perspective: good or evil, right or wrong, they were in most cases interchangeable. As they were in this.

Data swirled around six bodies, even as the humans raised their hands to the heavens above to announce their evolution with a firmness which stated their conviction in doing so. Six voices, different yet their tenors melding together into a single, uniform declaration. Even as the words themselves differed.

'Spirit Evolution! Blitzmon!'

'Spirit Evolution! Chakmon!'

'Spirit Evolution! Fairymon!'

'Spirit Evolution! Lowemon!'

'Double Spirit Evolution! Ardhamon!'

'Double Spirit Evolution! Beowolfmon!'

The data faded away, revealing the six legendary warriors. Six warriors. Six stories. Six fates...but they all lay in the hands of one, and the choice he made when the moment of truth descended upon him...

* * *

The six of us stood on the fragment of the Ophanimoon which had carried us, with a little help, to the very edge of the Dark Area. The contrast between light and darkness at that point was palpable, to the extent that one could see the particles of light clashing with the anti-light particles.

The Dark Area was exactly what its name portrayed; an amassed area of darkness. Not wholly black as one might expect, but rather with a purple tinge to it, the very essence of it radiating evil. And in the centre was Lucemon, half angel, half devil, observing another world, our world, through the portal he had created with the amassed digi-code.

It was time. Together, as one, we took off, united by our desire to protect, united by our ignorance in the knowledge which would have helped us do so.

But all this time, we had progressed in ignorance; the more knowledge we gained, the more we realised how little we really knew.

But we had always succeeded in the end. With faith, with belief...a fool's hope some would call it. Hope that one could not see in the deep trench of despair, but felt nonetheless.

_I open my eyes, I cannot see_

'Can you see it, RhodoKnightmon, Dynaasmon?,' he said aloud as we neared, calling to those he had killed and scanned by his own hand. 'It's just a matter of time...I'll fulfil your wish to conquer the human world.'

The human world, our world. The world we sought to protect despite how hopeless it may have seemed. Because the faith we had in each other meant that that hope still existed, even as before us is the end of the road.

Or the beginning...

But our hope would not diminish while our faith remained.

He turned to us. Slowly, unhurriedly, as if we were but a thorn in his side. Perhaps that was all we appeared to him, seeing as how easily he had brushed the hyper-spirit evolved Takuya and Kouji aside in our last encounter. We could have been little thorns in his side for all the damage we could do. Not being pessimistic or anything, but he was mega level, on top of the fact that he was the most powerful of the seven demon lords and their leader, and not to mention that he absorbed the entire digital world's fractal code to make himself even more powerful. Against that, what could four champion hybrids and two ultimate hybrids do?

'Oh?' he asked, sounding more amused than surprised. 'You humans were still alive?'

Why wouldn't he be? He was more than confident in his ability to dispose of should the need arise. In terms of raw power, we were far outmatched.

But we were still here, and that made all the difference. Because our faith had kept us alive. Faith that we could still do something to make a difference. The faith that told us that we still had a part to play in the fate of this universe.

It's the unpredictability of human nature, and the fallibility of all those who see victory in their grasp and then lose it simply because they underestimate their opponents in their overconfidence. It's the wild card which can tip the balance in either direction.

It wasn't about who was stronger in terms of raw power. The faith, the conviction, the reason we were fighting, and all those who believed in us gave us strength. And as long as that will didn't falter, there was still a fighting chance.

Even if he didn't see it as such in the surety that it would be he who wound up on top.

'Once I reach that road,' he commented coolly, gesturing to the path of digi-code behind him. 'I'll have opened the gate that leads to the human world...There won't be anyone who will be able to stop me anymore.'

_the shining light is blinding me_

In a sense, we were also blinded.

'Just watch us stop you!' Ardhamon declared in the centre of our formation, his voice betraying neither fear nor weakness.

Blinded to the despondency of it all. I don't think anyone really acknowledged the fact that we could lose this battle. There are times where the victory becomes so important, that so much depends on it, that the possibility of a defeat becomes near inconceivable. Just for a mere moment, where the strength of faith and hope forms a light so bright it burns away the underlining truth which lurks beneath. Where our belief, and others beliefs we carry with us, coupled with our own determination and the sheer necessity of the whole situation, forgetting that his own course is as noble to him as ours is to us.

After all, he wanted to create a new world where chaos would not exist.

But playing the hand of god goes against the laws of nature, and the one who tries to take the carpenter's place always winds up cutting his hands in the end. Chaos existed as the _yin_ of order. Like light and darkness, as Kouji and I demonstrated, it was impossible for one to exist without the other.

But the funny thing about such firm belief. You fail to see the other side till it's too late.

At the time, we were too hell bent on saving our world for the possibility of failure to occur to us.

'It's our world,' Beowulfmon declared from his place between Takuya and I. 'And we will protect it!'

He voiced all of our sentiments. Our hope, our aspiration...and to some extent for desperation. Because the declaration was so final that there was no room for deviation. No room for failure.

There really wasn't. Too much depended on us. Not just the Digital World, but our world as well, and the people, the animals, the plants...all forms of life on Earth would be obliterated should Lucemon find his way into it.

And who knew if that would be where he stopped? Who knew if other worlds existed? After all, we had only known about the Digital World when we had found ourselves in it, thus it was a viable possibility that other worlds existed as well, waiting to be discovered...or perhaps they had already been, but not by us.

He relented, though it was obvious he did not see us as a threat. 'Fine,' he said, in a certain disregarding manner which grated at our already stretched nerves. It's just a matter of time before I reach the human world. But I'll be your opponent anyway.'

We hit him in combination, ice and wind, fire and thunder, light and darkness...but whatever we threw at him, it didn't seem to faze him at all. He easily sidestepped Chakmon's _**Snow Bomber**_ and my own _**Endlich Meteor**_ while returning Fairymon's _**Brezza Petalo**_ along with the combination of _**Mjollnir Thunder**_ and _**Brahma Sutra**_, courtesy of Blitzmon and Ardhamon.

_But as the last rays of the sunshine fades_

Kouji was the last to try, but he was just as easily tossed aside, like a rag doll which has worn out its use.

'Too late,' the half-angel scorned, before covering the laser on Beowolfmon's arm, causing the _**Licht Angriff**_ which he had meant to fire to detonate within the laser and blast him back.

Too easily he had taken all our attacks, but we weren't about to give up. Though it was pretty much a wasted effort when I tried to stop him as he lunged for my fallen brother, his laser broken and smoking.

'Kouji,' I growled, attempting to bring my lance down upon the Demon Lord's unprotected back while he focused on focusing light into one hand. The other hand immediately gathered darkness before blasting it back, only to get parried by the shield which formed on my arm.

It was darkness, but I was too, so theoretically we should be equal in strength. In position, I had the leverage, which gave me the slight advantage and allowed me to push forward against the strength which tried to batter me back even while it wasn't at true strength.

He was playing with us. He didn't see us as a threat.

But he had underestimated us; underestimated our strength, our determination...

For a moment, I pushed onwards, then a small smirk graced his features and I was blasted back as he brought his other hand around as well, the light and darkness being too much for my shield, or me for that matter, to withstand.

I crashed into the roof of the Dark Arena, for a moment paralysed with the combination of the attack and the resulting pain. Distantly, I could hear my brother call my name, and then Neemon's cry...

'Ahhhh...everyone was beaten!'

...and Bokomon's response to his statement.

'What...what power! Even the combined power of the Ten Warriors wasn't enough!'

The others were silent, but their silence told all. We were losing hope, losing faith, with how easily we were defeated...pumping ourselves up only to be crushed down.

'No matter how much you struggle,' Lucemon continued, sounding rather unsurprised at how things had turned out. 'You cannot win against me. And I'll prove this to you.'

He raised one hand, the right one, with the particles of light gathering in the palm of his hand. 'This is the power of Light.'

He raised the other hand in a similar motion. 'And this is the power of Darkness.'

The two orbs grew in both power and strength, before he released one, the light orb, letting it consume and cover all that beneath it. I was above, I was fine, but I could hear the half-screams of the others before they were engulfed in the blinding light.

'_**Dead...**_'

The darkness orb was released.

_**'...or Alive!'**_

It consumed the light, and for a moment, the two orbs converged. The light and the darkness, known by nature to be entirely contradictory became one as a force of destruction, and for a moment, I simply stared at the display of power, even now not at its full strength, till I heard the screams of my friends within it and forgot all else.

The orb fell apart, and the others, human again, floated almost still, immobile, hopeless...

And above them, Lucemon gloated. Above him, I watched, and listened.

'Light and Darkness are like Yin and Yang,' he explained, the gloating explanation that one gave before what they believed to be a sure victory. 'Inseparable like the two sides of an object, but as different as night and day.'

Like Kouji and I, one could say. Twins, holders of the Spirits of Light and Darkness, yet so different...

'They can never be one.'

...but we had our similarities too. Like Yin and Yang, there existed a part of one in the other. Then it can't be said that they can never be one. They can.

'However, I can use those two powers as one.'

The most powerful attack, fusing two elements which are entirely contradictory creates the strongest force possible. Far stronger than any individual attack.

'And so, you cannot defeat me...ever.'

But it wasn't over yet. There was still hope. Still a chance.

_the shadows filter through the haze_

'Light and darkness are one.'

Somehow, saying it aloud made it more real. They were one, light and darkness. His strength...and his weakness, because while he used the two together, they weren't one, so there was still a weakness in the power he thought to be infallible.

'Well, humans, let's end this...'

He wasn't paying attention to me, focused on the others as he began gathering light in his right palm again, stronger, more powerful. He wasn't toying this time.

My attention was not focused on him either; my brain was walking overtime in trying to sort out information and possible solutions. Nothing reasonable came to mind; heck, nothing came to mind at all.

And we were out of time.

'A new world will be born!'

Darkness gathered in the other palm.

Somewhere, I heard Bokomon's voice in the silence that followed.

'Everyone, get up! If he uses that magic on you, you're finished!'

And Neemon's...

'Run!'

And then Lucemon.

'Light!'

Shining, enveloping all...

'Darkness!'

The other orb released, falling, in slow motion...

_Shadows, Oh the power I call_

'No!'

The cry exploded from my lips almost unconsciously. In fact, I didn't even become conscious of what I was doing till I heard Kouji call my name in desperation.

'Kouichi!'

And I was freefalling, like a bird racing the bullet, falling faster than the orb of darkness so I could intercept it.

Just above the shining barrier of light, I flipped in the air, ceasing my momentum and holding the darkness at bay with both hands.

He called my name again, his tenor ridden with a multitude of emotions, the only one identifiable was the fear almost hidden under a swirling mass.

'Kouichi!'

Following his voice was Lucemon's, though unlike my brother, his was full of scorn, though similarly, faint fear underlined it.

'Fool...though you may be the Warrior of Darkness, you cannot match my power of darkness.'

I knew I couldn't...that was not what I had intended...

...and then my grip slipped, and the two powers merged.

_Shed the light of my blinding veil_

Before the dome closed, I knew I had just sealed my fate by my own hands. And his as well; in his confidence, he had failed to see that we too, could make light and darkness one.

They flashed before my eyes, light, darkness...I had expected it to hurt, but it didn't. It was just as if something was letting go...

And then it was like a veil had been lifted from my eyes, and suddenly, I could see far more than I had ever seen before.

I could see myself, the sad, lonely and bitter child who had arrived in the buffer zone of the Digital World, emotions bubbling out like an overfilled dam. Even purified, when I to some extent realised the extent of my misplaced anger and bitterness, a part of me retained the negativity, the hatred, the jealousy...and now, as all that kept the truth from my eyes was gone, I could finally let go of it all, and relieve my heavy heart of that burdan.

Only now, when I could see, and understand...but not tell, never tell...

I could see my brother, the twelve year old child beneath the icy facade which had thinned over the time he had spent in the digital world, yet somehow had been able to withstand all the challenges he had been faced with, though now little more than a thin sheet which could easily shatter if a strong enough force was applied to it. At first, I had mistaken his mask for apathy; it was far later that that misconception cleared as I realised it was simply a means of protection.

Tomoki...someone I had never been that close too; after all, he had Takuya, and Izumi, and the others, those he had known for longer and was far more comfortable with than I. Except that time we built the catapult together...that was probably the only time we really connected outside of battle. I only wish there had been more...but I was grateful for that one chance, at least, if nothing else.

He may have been the youngest of all of us, but he was just as important to the team structure. He was strong, in his own way; he stood up to Katsuharu and Teppei when they put him down, he stood up to Takuya in his rampage as Vtiramon, and it was his idea to build a snow catapult to help Takuya and Kouji in their fight against the Royal Knights instead of cheering and supporting them from the sidelines. I hadn't known him before coming to the digital world, I hadn't known any of the others actually, save Kouji, but even I could see how much he had grown up, changed, and most importantly, accepted that change in order to allow him to grow further.

Junpei...another person I had never been that close too, though I got the feeling he understood far more than he let on, despite the impressions he normally gave. The jokes, the magic tricks, the banter, they hid a strength beneath them, and a sense of keenness, or perception, as though he saw far more than others gave him credit for.

Izumi...she was always so empathic, so understanding. If it wasn't for her, I may never have built up the courage to talk to my brother. She's strong, in her own way, and determined to get what she wants. Someone who won't take no for an answer, but knows what lines not to cross. Sort of the elastic band which holds us together, prompting those who need prompting, and reigning in those she sometimes needs to keep on a leash.

Takuya...I don't know really what I can say. Too much flashed through my mind then. He's one of a kind; we all are, really. That's what makes us all such a good team. But he's the unofficial leader, the flame which flickers through the darkness, lighting the way. The stubborn block that refuses to yield no matter what the danger. He's done so much...he convinced Kouji to fight and they saved me. He broke my brother's icy mask; no cold heart can last long in his presence without warming up. And so much more, some things I only see the secondary effects of, others only hear say...but still, the changes, the impact, are there clear as day.

It's the same with all of us, in the end. We've all changed each other, and for the better I think. Me as well...somewhere, I've left my mark on each of them.

And despite knowing what I had done, why I had done it...there was still a sense of lingering sadness that despite all, I was going to hurt them again.

But it couldn't be helped.

It was, after all, the only way.

'I know now why I came to the Digital World...' I began, aloud, but not really directing my words to any one person, not really focusing on their reaction though being able to sense them all the same.

I came, because I had my part to play.

'Lucemon!' This time, I directed my words to the Demon Lord, whose brow furrowed in irritation, and slight confusion. 'You aren't the only one who can use both the power of Light and Darkness!'

To an extent, I pitied him now. Pitied him because he could never understand the full extent of the power which he wielded as his own. The power that would bring him victory, and as a result, inevitable defeat.

Even though I knew I would not be around to witness it.

_It's time for me to-_

'Everyone...'

I directed my words to all of them, my friends who I had met on this life changing journey. Takuya, Izumi, Junpei, Tomoki, Bokomon, Neemon, Patamon, Lopmon, Salamon...and most importantly, Kouji. And they all listened, as though they knew, as well as I did, what was about to happen, even if the dullness of the shock had just struck and was yet to settle into conscious emotion and thought.

'Though we haven't been together for very long...thank you.'

The time didn't matter, they were, and still are, the best friends I could ever hope for. All they've done for me: simply being there, forgiving me and accepting me when I could not myself, protecting me from Cherubimon even when I was simply a liability to them, another defenceless person who needed looking after, saving me from my own hatred and bitterness, emotions I could finally let go of without remorse as everything became clear, coming with me when I headed to the Venus Rose...even with the excuses they made, their real intentions were obvious. I was one of them, as far as they were concerned, and that alone warranted enough of a reason for them not to let me go alone despite the chance they sacrificed in order to do so...and so much more I wish I could say, but can't.

After all, my time was running out.

'When you go back to the human world...I won't see you there.'

At that point, I didn't really pause to consider the possibility that I may survive. I mean, come on, if you were practically on the brink of death, pretty much tasting your soul on your lips, would you even think to consider the chance that you might not die that day?

Especially considering I existed as a mere spirit on the digital plane.

I could see their reactions, as the grim understanding dawned upon them. The impending doom, the dark cloud that hovered, and all the emotions that lay beneath, and beneath all that, the hope for a tomorrow.

After all, as much as I'd rather die than see them be killed, I'd rather them die peacefully than be alive and have to suffer, as bad as that sounds.

But even now, by saving them, I was hurting them.

'You won't..?' Tomoki whimpered, emotions swirling under the tone, too much...

...but it has to be done. And I knew as soon as I made that split second decision, that that was a decision that I would not regret.

_leave this world behind me_

'Everyone! Please, protect our world!'

The real world...and the digital world too...

The world I had tried to cover in darkness...but this is not redemption, I forgave myself for that a long time ago.

This was just something I had to do.

'Kouichi?'

I'm sorry Kouji...but...

_As I see my soul on angel wings approach me_

'Most likely I'm...I'm no more...'

...and then the orb vanished.

_as the veil lifts from my clouded eyes_

'It can't be-!'

Denial...

I'm so sorry Kouji...but there was no other way.

Darkness and light...the only way. After all, by his own hand, Lucemon just fused the two most powerful forces in the universe together.

_For only now can I truly see_

_while the darkness of death consumes me_

_The power to change that lies in me_

_but my choice is-it cannot be_

'Kouichi..?'

I'm sorry everyone, but...

_So it's time for me to-_

'Please,' I whispered, falling gently towards the ground, unclothed and pure like a newborn baby. Perhaps that was how it was in death, the deception of the world vanishes, only to be washed with the plain truth. 'Take them Kouji! The Spirits of Darkness!'

My form was breaking up, my body steadily numbing. I could feel it, fainter by each passing second, but I let it go, instead willing my spirits, the spirits of darkness, to help my brother...to help them all.

He took them, clutching them close, then looked back up to me with an almost pleading stare. Pleading, but resigned.

After all, we all knew what was going to happen.

_leave this world behind me_

'I'm glad I came to the Digital World,' I continued, trying to make him understand. After all that, I didn't regret what I had done. Had I another chance, I would have done the same over and over again. 'I'm glad I met you...'

_As I see my soul on angel wings approach me_

_as the veil lifts from my clouded eyes_

_For only now can I truly see_

_what the world is meant to be_

_The future's sight, for me to know_

_to understand but not to show_

_For as my eyes truly see_

_sound closes its door on me_

_As the last line is written here_

There was nothing more I could say. Whether that was because my ability to speak had faded away or something else, I could never know. But even as it was, all I could do was stare into Kouji's tear stained face and will his tears away, trying to relay the silent messages, all I could never have said aloud, to him...even as I felt my data unraveling, a new experience for me, and my form fading...

Then Lucemon's voice pierced the haze which was beginning to settle.

'Are you done talking?'

_for a story whose end is near_

'What a pain you are!'

He was still blinded, unable to see the force which would defeat him. Blinded by his own dream, which now didn't seem that wrong even if his methods for carrying it out were, and despite the fact that he had taken his power too far in the past...after all, everybody deserves a second chance. Even him.

But this wasn't that time; evil had too far tainted his heart. But all digimon were reborn...perhaps he would get a better chance when his life began anew.

Because I had no doubt the others would win...even if they couldn't see it yet...

_For it's time for me to-_

_leave this world behind me_

'Disappear!'

And everything did. My vision followed my voice, blacking out with only the smallest speck of light visible, a tunnel inviting me into its warm embrace, irresistible...not that I could have resisted fate as it was...

_As I see my soul on angel wings approach me_

_as I stretch my fingers towards the sky_

_It's time for me to-_

_leave this world..._

_leave this world..._

_leave this world...behind me..._

_But there's one more thing to say_

And the last thing I heard before my auditory sense was gone as well was my brother's cry.

'Kouichi.'

Then darkness...

_and that's...goodbye...

* * *

_

'Kouichi!' Kouji cried as his brother's data was scanned by the angel-demon complex who had claimed his life. But before the grief could even think to settle, the spirits of darkness, sensing the death of their previous holder, called out, darkness erupting and triggering the light spirits to react as well.

The chain reaction, predictably, considering the might of Lucemon's attack, brought the one holding them both a great deal of pain, a strangled scream erupting from the boy's throat as he clutched himself tightly to quell the convulsions.

Lucemon laughed callously, though it seemed that the smallest trace of fear underlined it. 'I guess you can't use them...A human can't use both Light and Darkness.'

Takuya turned, his own shock barely beginning to settle as he saw the two conflicting powers clash in the body of his best friend, the other's form trembling like an autumn leaf from the strain. 'What?' he breathed.

Another strangled cry was his reply.

'Kouichi!'

Lucemon laughed again, raising a hand, the one which he used to summon the orb of light and scan Kouichi's digi-code, the said data appearing in his grip, twisting and coiling in an attempt to get free; a failed attempt, as it was trapped in the grasp of the one who had scanned it.

'What a fool,' the demon lord laughed. 'He just betrayed himself.'

Takuya growled menacingly, his shock finally fading to give way to more useful emotions. 'Lucemon! You bastard! I won't forgive you!'

Fire, the element of passion, his spirit...the flames surrounded him even as he raised a hand to punch the one responsible for the loss of one of his friends. Behind him, Kouji let out another strangled scream, his body arching and head being thrown back as both forces were expelled from his body to amplify the flames which steadily enclosed them.

Then, from the fiery depths, their voices echoed in unity, united by their common goal, common grief...and much else besides.

'Ancient Spirit Evolution! Susanoomon!'

* * *

**Lyrics (original version):**

_I open my eyes, I cannot see  
the shining light is blinding me_

_But as the last rays of the sunshine fades  
the shadows filter through the haze_

_Shadows, Oh the power I call  
Shed the light of my blinding veil_

_It's time for me to-  
leave this world behind me_

_As I see my soul on angel wings approach me  
as the veil lifts from my clouded eyes_

_For only now can I truly see  
while the darkness of death consumes me_

_The power to change that lies in me  
but my choice is-it cannot be_

_So it's time for me to-  
leave this world behind me_

_As I see my soul on angel wings approach me  
as the veil lifts from my clouded eyes_

_For only now can I truly see  
what the world is meant to be_

_The future's sight, for me to know  
to understand but not to show_

_For as my eyes truly see  
sound closes its door on me_

_As the last line is written here  
for a story whose end is near_

_For it's time for me to-  
leave this world behind me_

_As I see my soul on angel wings approach me  
as I stretch my fingers towards the sky_

_It's time for me to-  
leave this world..._

_leave this world...  
leave this world...behind me..._

_But there's one more thing to say  
and that's...goodbye..._


End file.
